NHL sets training-camp date
TORONTO — NHL training camps will open on July 10 — provided medical and safety conditions permit, and the league and its players can reach an agreement on resuming the season.
The start of camps for the 24 teams included in the NHL’s return-to-play plan would signal a move to Phase 3 of the league’s overarching protocol for a resumption of the 2019-20 campaign, which was paused March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That’s good news for us,” Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for. If you asked most players what was the hardest part about it all, it was the uncertainty.
“To go that long without any news or hard information in terms of a start time is tough, but it’s rolling now and, hopefully, we can keep going in the right direction.”
The NHL and NHLPA said in a joint statement the length of camps and the target date for Phase 4 — actual games being played in arenas without fans — will be determined later.
Phase 2 of the return-to-play protocol began this week with teams given the option of opening practice facilities to small groups of players for on- and off-ice workouts under strict health and safety restrictions.
“It’s important,” said Rielly, one of as many as 20 members of the
Leafs taking part. “Now it’s just a matter of putting the time between now and July 10, and then get everyone together.”
Teams in Canada have the added wrinkle of a 14-day quarantine for all international travellers entering the country, although the NHL continues to discuss the matter with the federal government. As it stands, players in the United States and Europe on Canadian clubs would have to return no later than June 26 to be cleared for camp on July 10. The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames have considered holding their camps south of the border if the situation remains the same.
Rielly, 26, who has spent most of the past three months at home in Vancouver, said he was apprehensive flying back to Toronto. “Even just going to the grocery store you can get nervous a little bit. But travelling back, for sure,” he said.
The league’s return-to-play blueprint — which will eventually require the approval of health and government officials to get off the ground in two centralized hub cities — would begin with separate round-robin tournaments for the top-four clubs in both the Eastern and Western Conference.
The remaining franchises would take part in eight best-offive qualifying round series, leaving the NHL with its traditional 16-team playoff.
Should the league move to Phase 4, it would see Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and
Philadelphia compete for the No. 1 slot in the East, with defending Cup champions St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas doing the same out West.
The East’s best-of-five qualifying or “play-in” series would see Pittsburgh vs. Montreal, Carolina vs. New York Rangers, New York Islanders vs. Florida, and Toronto vs. Columbus. In the West, the best-of-five matchups include Edmonton vs. Chicago, Nashville vs. Arizona, Vancouver vs. Minnesota, and Calgary vs. Winnipeg.
It’s hoped that Phase 4 will begin in July or early August, with the Stanley Cup awarded in the fall. The cup has been awarded every year since 1893, save for 1919, due to the Spanish flu outbreak, and 2005, due to a lockout.